Juvenile facility worker accused of sexually assaulting young girls

Published: Tuesday, February 12, 2013 at 08:38 AM.

MILTON — Local and state authorities are investigating a third employee at the Milton Girls Facility following the center’s closing in December, according to the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office.

Mental health technician Ernest L. Parker, 52, is accused of sexually assaulting several juvenile girls at the facility in Milton, according to a Sheriff’s Office news release.

He has been charged with four counts of battery, seven counts of sexual assault on a juvenile with special conditions, three counts of lewd and lascivious on a child between 12 and 16 years old, one count of lewd and lascivious on a person 18 or older and six counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor, the Sheriff’s Office reported.

The Milton Girls Facility contracted with the Department of Juvenile Justice to provide life skills, psychological and behavioral counseling and schooling to juvenile girls ordered there by the court.

The facility was shut down in December 2012 when the center requested to end its contract with the Department of Juvenile Justice. The 60 girls there were moved to other centers.

The request to shut down came shortly after another employee, 33-year-old Shannon Abbott was charged with felony battery. Surveillance video showed Abbott pushing a teenage girl against a wall then pinning her to the floor.

Carol Andrus, the program director, also is under investigation for excessive use of force and improper conduct for grabbing the neck of a 15-year-old girl.

Several girls reported in December that Parker touched them in sexual ways. The girls told investigators they were afraid to speak out for fear that their sentences would be lengthened.

Parker is in the Santa Rosa County Jail on a $1.01 million bond, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

The Sheriff’s Office, Department of Juvenile Justice, state Department of Children and Families and the state attorney’s office are investigating.

Officials are looking for girls who stayed at the facility between April and December 2012 who were victims or witnesses to the incidents, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 850-437-STOP.

MILTON — Local and state authorities are investigating a third employee at the Milton Girls Facility following the center’s closing in December, according to the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office.

Mental health technician Ernest L. Parker, 52, is accused of sexually assaulting several juvenile girls at the facility in Milton, according to a Sheriff’s Office news release.

He has been charged with four counts of battery, seven counts of sexual assault on a juvenile with special conditions, three counts of lewd and lascivious on a child between 12 and 16 years old, one count of lewd and lascivious on a person 18 or older and six counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor, the Sheriff’s Office reported.

The Milton Girls Facility contracted with the Department of Juvenile Justice to provide life skills, psychological and behavioral counseling and schooling to juvenile girls ordered there by the court.

The facility was shut down in December 2012 when the center requested to end its contract with the Department of Juvenile Justice. The 60 girls there were moved to other centers.

The request to shut down came shortly after another employee, 33-year-old Shannon Abbott was charged with felony battery. Surveillance video showed Abbott pushing a teenage girl against a wall then pinning her to the floor.

Carol Andrus, the program director, also is under investigation for excessive use of force and improper conduct for grabbing the neck of a 15-year-old girl.

Several girls reported in December that Parker touched them in sexual ways. The girls told investigators they were afraid to speak out for fear that their sentences would be lengthened.

Parker is in the Santa Rosa County Jail on a $1.01 million bond, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

The Sheriff’s Office, Department of Juvenile Justice, state Department of Children and Families and the state attorney’s office are investigating.

Officials are looking for girls who stayed at the facility between April and December 2012 who were victims or witnesses to the incidents, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 850-437-STOP.